UPDATE 1-U.S. steel stocks jump after Kobe Steel crisis deepens

Published 10:13 AM ET Fri, 13 Oct 2017
Reuters

(Adds analysts' comments; updates share price)

Oct 13 (Reuters) - Shares of U.S. steelmakers jumped on Friday after Japan's Kobe Steel Ltd said the firm's data cheating may have spread beyond the country to affect about 500 companies, sparking global supply chain concerns.

"If you think of any other competitive industry in the commodity business, if one of the major players were knocked out it's looked at as potential for supply disruption which benefits the other players," Hogan added.

The scale of the misconduct at Japan's third-largest steelmaker weakened its shares by 9 percent, wiping about $1.8 billion off its market value this week.

The firm's chief executive Hiroya Kawasaki was ordered by the government to report on how the misconduct occurred and address safety concerns.